Stop box and cock



(No Modem Y A royTTB. y STOP B0X AND 000K'.

Patented Mar, Z7, 1888.-

N. Pneus nmrumngmpmr. wmmpm uc.

` UNITED STATES PATENTV Ormes.

CHARLESI e. AErre,- or sfr. Louis, MISSOURI.,

sToP Box AND oocK.

SP1-IlCII-"It'fll'JJION forming part of Letters Patent No. 380,196, dated March 27,1888..

Application filed August 9, 1887. Serial No. 246,509. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.'

Beit known that I, CHARLES vG. ETTE, a

citizen of the United States, residing at St.

Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Improvement in a Combined Stop Box and Cock, of which the following is so full, clear, and exact a description as will enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, in whic Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of my device. Fig. 2 isa top plan view of the same with the cover raised. Fig. 3 is a crosssection of Fig. 1, taken on the line x Fig. 4 is a detail view of the lower device. n

The object of my invention is to construct a stop box and cock which may be set in the sidewalk or any place where it is desired to locate the stop-box, and to provide the same v with an adjustable casing and cap which may be raised or lowered to accommodate it to the Avarying surfaces of the groundor sidewalk,

as occasion may require.

Another object of my invention is to construct a stop-box the working parts of 'which may be removed when it is desired to repair it without the necessity of digging ,the dirt up around the box, and without the necessity of removing the box land its connection from the water-main.

Another object of my invention is to provide an automatically self-closing valve which will serve to stop the ow of water through the box when the working parts are removed.

Another object of my invention is to provide a stop-box which can be quickly and eas-l ily operated from the top, and one which will not becomeclogged and obstructed by an accumulation of dirt, sand, snow, or ice.

Another object of my invention is to provide a box which is so constructed that it cannot be tampered with by meddlesome people, and one whichcan only be operated by a key specially designed for that purpose.

With these objects in view I proceed to accomplish them by the construction shown in -the accompanying drawings and particularly' 5o described in this specication hereinafter.

The upper casing and adjustable shell is designated by the letter A. This shell, together portion of my.

threaded on its outer upper periphery, vand with the cover B, forms the cap for the stopj' box. The shell A is provided with grooves c, which register with corresponding projections, a', on the outer upper edge of' the inside stationary shell, C, which shell is also provided with internal grooves, c, vwhich receive and accommodate projections d d on the verticallysliding thimble D. This thimble D is vprovided with an internal female quick screw, D?, in which works the stem E, which is provided with a corresponding male quick screw, e.- The upper end of this stem E is providedl with a .pentagon nut, e2, which is protected by a flange or guard, F, on the upper en d of the internal'cap, G. This internal cap, G, is secured to the internal stationary shell, C, through the medium'of the bolts, rivets, or screwsh. This internal cap confines the stem E, to which is secured the thimble D, and as the stem E is heldrigidly in place against vertical displacement the entire working parts of the stop-box are thus held securely in place, by the cap G and the inner casing, C. It will 75 of coursebe understood that this cap G might be internally screw-threaded and lthe inner shell, C, might be correspondingly screwthe cap G might be screwed onto the inner s@ shell, C, without departing from the spirit of my invention and without in any way inter-Y fering with its usefulness. I make mention of this fact here because I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the exact means shown-of connecting these two parts. Between thecap G and the inner casing, C, is a washer, t', which contines a flange, j, and holds it against downward movement, while it is held against any upward movement by 9o the inner upper portion of the cap G. The cap B is hinged to the upper portion of the vertically-adj ustable casing A,and'is provided with a recess, a3, in which may be inserted a' scratch-awl or other suitable device when it is desired to raise the cover.

The inner casing, C, is provided with the usual perforations, c2 c2, to permit any water which may enter the box from the topv to es, l cape, and thus prevent any accumulation of roo water and mud at this point.

The .main stem H is made in the usual man-H ner andis preferably hollow. The pipe proper is hollow and is screw-threaded at top and bottom and joined in the usual manner. On the lower end of the main stem is a projecting bolt or rod, H2, the 'lower end of which is screwthreaded to receive a nut, h2, which holds a washer, t", which in turn supports a` pairV 'f cup-washers, e? i, both turned downward and separated by the usual packing-washers, 7'2 jl, and held down by a shoulder, k, on the lower portion of the valve stem H. The lower portion of the shell L is provided with internal ribs, l l, which. are designed to act as frictionbearings for the ball-valve M and to keep the ball-valve away from the edges of the inside of the shell to allow the water to pass out through the shell around the ball when the box is in running order.

The main inlet for the water is designated by the reference-letter N and is made in the usual manner.

It will be observed by reference to Fig. 1 that when the valve is closed the ball-valve M is forced down into the lower portion of the casing L, and by reference to Fig. 4 it will be observed that when the valve is open the pressure ofthe water will force the ball up and cause it to follow the lower-end of the projecting rod H. It will also be observed that this rod is longer than the distance between the upper edge of the inner portion of the outlet-pipe O and the loweredge of the outlet-valve seat, so that as the valve-stem is raised to open the water-way the lower end of the stein or bolt H2 projects considerably below the seat of the valve, leaving a clear waterway up through Iright to make the upper outer casing with 1nternal ribs and to groove the outer periphery vof the inner casing, C, or to groove the lnner the lower portion of the casing L and around the ball-valve M.

When it is found necessary or desirable to remove the valvestem and the working parts of the stop-box to repair the same or to replace any of the parts, it is only necessary to remove the inner upper cap, G, and lift it ol' from the upper portion of the stem E, and the stem E, together with the lower portion, H, and the valves and cup-washers at the bottom may all be lifted out together.

From the construction it will be seen at a glance that as the valve-stem is removed and as its downward pressure on the top of the ball-valve M is released the ball M will be forced by the pressure of the water up against the lower side of the valve-seat m,which valve seat may or may not be beveled to t the ball, as may be found most desirable. It is obvious that the ball will close the opening sufficiently tight for all practical purposes if it is not beveled; but I wish to be understood as reserving the right to bevel it if it is desirable.

It will be readily understood from the above description land the accompanying drawings that it will be impossible to operate this stopbox-that is, to operate the valve-with any.

device except a wrench or key specially designed for this purpose, first, because the shape of the n ut on the top of the stem E is such that it could not be operated by a monkeywrench or any ordinary wrench, and, second, because the flange or guard F would prevent the jaws of any ordinary wrench from coming down low enough to grasp the nut, 1f the wrench were made in the proper shape, so that all trouble from meddlesome people and boys in the street will thus be avoided. At the same time the nut is near the surface arid is easily accessible and may be easily and qulckly operated by the proper person having a key designed for this purpose. It will also be understood that the adjustability of the outer upper casing, A, is a matter of prime importance in this connection, as these stop-boxes are often set in place in the sidewalk and the sidewalk is afterward graded more or less, changing the height of the ground around the place where the stopbox is located and making it desirable to adj ust it up or down to bring it on a level with the sidewalk. l

Another feature of prime importance in this connection lies in the fact that there is no danger of the stop-box being disturbed by the action of the frost in cold weather or at any time. If thefrost catches the outer casing, A, and raises it, the casing can easily be pushed back when the frost leaves the ground.. If it catches the inner casing or the main pipe and raises it without raising the outer shell, A, it will not affect the level of the stop-box, and will not do any damageon this account. Should the frost raise both the main pipe or valve 1stem and the upper casing, they can easilybe Areadj usted by sliding the upper outer casing up or down until it is in proper position again. I wish to be understood as reserving the surface of the outer upper casing, A, and provide ribson the inner casing or shell, C, as it `will be seen at a glance that either way of doing this would effect the desired result. I prefer, however, to construct the outer shell, A,

`with internal ribs and to make the shorter `device or the flange a of the inner shell, C,

with corresponding grooves to accommodate these ribs, for this reason: If the ribs are made on the inner shell and the main casing were to be grooved, the frost, grit, clay, and water would combine and fill up the grooves in the.

outer casing and make it very difficult, if not impossible, to adj ust the shell up and down on the inner casing.

The ball-valve M is inserted in to the chamber below the lower casing by uncoupling the lower arm, N, and putting the ball into place Ain the lower portion of the casing and then screwing the inlet-arm N into place, the ball being held against downward movement out of the casing by the shoulder on the inner upper portion of the arm N.

Having now described the objects, uses, and advantages of my device and having set forth in detail its construction, what I desire to se'-` cure by Letters Patent, and what I therefore claim, isy The combination, with the upper casing and adjustable shell, A, provided with grooves a a IOO IIO

and the cover B, of the inner stationary shell, provided through the hydrant when the valve A C, provided on its outer upper edge with prois open, and whereby the flow of water is aur 5 jections a', having internal grooves,c, the vertomatic'ally cut oft' as soon as the valve-stem f tically-sliding thimble D, provided with an inis removed or raised up below the lower line .5 ternal female quick-screw, D, the stem E,pro of the valve-seat in the lower casing, substanvided with a quick-screw, e, and. a pentagon tially as described. t

nut, e2, protected by the ange or guard F, the In testimony whereof I afx my signature in,.2o vlalves and wlshers on the lower portion, H, of the presence of two witnesses. t e stem E, t e shell L, provided withA the inf Y lo ternal ribs, Z,the shouldered inlet-pipe N, out- CHARLES G' ETTE' let-pipe O, and the ball-valve M, located in the Witnesses: shell L below the projecting rod H2, whereby WILL L. BoYDEN, a clear and uninterrupted water-way is alwaysV CEAS. E. BARBER. 

